John Paul Took On Communism, Benedict Took on Relativism, Next Pope Must Take on Militant Secularism

By Deacon Keith Fournier
3/1/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

I have been engaged in numerous conversations since Pope Benedict XVI announced his decision to resign his office

Even those who hate the Catholic Church (and their numbers are increasing) intuitively know that this election has far more significance than the one which occurred last year in the United States. Who will step into the shoes of the fisherman? What manner of man will he be? What will it mean for the Church? What will it mean for the world?

Pope Benedict and Blessed John Paul II

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CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) - I have been engaged in numerous conversations since Pope Benedict XVI announced his decision to resign his office. His act of humility brings a prophetic end to a papacy of great substance. Benedict continued a trajectory begun by Blessed John Paul II. He promoted the New Evangelization of the Catholic Church. He knew that she must be renewed and restored in order to lead a new missionary age in this Third Millennium of Christianity.

Many of my discussions have centered on the contributions of the pontificate of Benedict XVI. I write on the Feast of the Chair of Peter. My readers know I believe that Benedicts years of service will be judged as having great significance. So too will the years of his predecessor, the one whose canonization will most assuredly occur, Blessed John Paul II. How privileged I have been to have lived during the time of these two worthy successors of Peter.

The eyes of the world turn again to the eternal city where another papal conclave will soon begin. Even those who hate the Catholic Church (and their numbers are increasing) intuitively know that this election has far more significance than the one which occurred last year in the United States. Who will step into the shoes of the fisherman? What manner of man will he be? What will it mean for the Church? What will it mean for the world?

Pundits apply tired political labels to an institution which defies such trite categories. They offer a worldly analysis to a Church which touches eternity. Even some in the religious media engage in analyzing the selection of the next pope in a way which seems to forget that the Church is an institution with one foot in this world and the other in the world to come.

The chattering of self appointed experts fills the multiple faces of modern media. Many are so self absorbed that they manufacture lists of candidates and make up stories as to why this one or that one will be - or should be - chosen. Yet, as was vividly demonstrated in the last two conclaves, they do not have a clue.

I am not the least bit concerned about who will be chosen. The trajectory of truth offered by the Catholic Church will continue because she is Christ's Church. God still loves the world so much that he sends His Son. He does that through the Church which is His Body. She is sent into a world which needs to be set free from the shackles of sin. A world hungering for the liberation which truth alone can bring.

I write to consider an aspect of the mission of the next pontificate. A man whom I respect recently reminded me that my hero, Blessed John Paul II, had helped to expose and bring down communism, an atheistic materialistic ideology which had enslaved millions. He then claimed that Benedict - as holy, wise and good as he was - had not taken on such a dangerous ideological enemy. I disagreed.

Even though John Paul II is my champion, and I am trying to write a doctoral dissertation on his extraordinary work of theological anthropology (Human love in the Divine Plan, aka "Theology of the Body"). I reminded him that the root error of communism has survived. It rears its ugly head in many places.

I also reminded him that Pope Benedict XVI had taken on an ideological adversary even more dangerous; one with the potential to enslave millions in its deadly wake. That enemy was labeled by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger before he assumed the Chair of Peter as the Dictatorship of Relativism.

On the eve of the convocation which would elect him as the successor of Peter, he reflected on the words of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians. He asked, "How many winds of doctrine we have known in recent decades, how many ideological currents, how many ways of thinking. The small boat of thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by these waves - thrown from one extreme to the other: from Marxism to liberalism, even to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism, and so forth."

He continued, "Every day new sects are created and what Saint Paul says about human trickery comes true, with cunning which tries to draw those into error (cf Eph 4, 14). Having a clear faith, based on the Creed of the Church, is often labeled today as a fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and "swept along by every wind of teaching", looks like the only attitude which is acceptable by today's standards. We are moving towards a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires."

Relativism denies the existence of any objective truth upon which to ground our lives as individuals, families, and nations. It says "you have your truth and I have mine". In other words, ...

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1 - 10 of 21 Comments

Fikru
2 months ago
I have learned how great pope benedict was.I believe the struggle today is fundamental secularism where by anychurch, Catholic or evangelical is forced by political figures and so called nobles to accept and support any UNGODLY action, belief or agenda in the name of Democracy. The ethist agenda a is not for their own right but about imposing the Christian to accept homosexuality and the worship of demons in the name of secularism.
We must pray for the right successor who will keep fighting secularism.
Ben in SoCal
2 months ago
God bless and guide His Church through these dark times. The sex abuse crisis is the greatest threat to the Church in generations. It is the primary reason I rejected the Catholic Church years ago, and only until recently have I returned to communion with the Faith.

Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin is the man to ascend as the Successor of St. Peter. Ireland, it can be said, is now the epicenter of the sex abuse crisis and collapse of Catholicism in the West. Far worse than America.

Pope John Paul II was elected from communist-dominated Poland, during a period of Communist domination in various regions of the world. He was the right man for the Church at that time.

Yes, the Catholic Church must challenge the militant secularism plaguing Europe, America, and the Western soul. But the Church needs to further repent of the horror of the sexual abuse crisis. The Church is collapsing in Ireland- IRELAND- of all places. The land that sent priests and nuns the world over to spread and strengthen the word of God.

Yes, militant secularism is a cause for grave concern. But just as much as the Counter-Reformation was launched by the Council of Trent, the Protestants were not off in their "protest" against the abuse of indulgences. Many people are rejecting the Church due to what they perceive as an incomplete and negligent approach to resolving the frightful specter of the abuses.
Theophilus Bernard
2 months ago
I like the new Pope to be bold, daring and to bring discipline within the Church itself before addressing outside issues which are also very important right now.
Sadly a number of our own Priests seem to dilute the tradition and the teachings of the catholic Church an put their own spin on them.
These are some of the things I have heard Priests saying in private discussions:

1. There is no Hell
2. Husband and Wife can use contraceptives
3. Soft peddling on divorce and re-marriage

There is also a growing tendency among the Hierarchy to just "take it easy" on important issues which confront the Church today, like Atheism, same sex marriage , active anti Christian propaganda and give their opinion occasionally to the TV reporters within the confines of their Offices and assume that the job is done.

We need much more power than that to combat the modern evils if we are to defeat the enemy.
vance
2 months ago
Our next Pope will have his hands full dealing with the radical Catholic despising Liberal Establishment. He will be wearing the same crown of thorns that Pope Paul VI wore during his reign. I pray that God the Holy Spirit has a man chosen to Shepard the church closer to Jesus Christ and his gospel. I hope he will shake up the church by unloading the anti-church liberal Bishops, priests, and nuns who are misleading the faithful, creating scandal and strife while driving more people out of the church..
jose thomas
2 months ago
Let us pray that we have a Pope who will be loyal to Christ, His Church and the Holy traditions of the Catholic church that the ordinary believer is not confused further. If we understand guidance of the Holy Spirit as something apart from Christ and His Church, we may perhaps fall into error. Bible has to be understood in its totality then the tradition of the Catholic church will have meaning. Otherwise Holy Bible may be used to defeat the Catholic faith. I think really the traditionalist should understand how Christ is proclaimed and experienced through the Holy tradition. And the modernist should understand the true meaning of the tradition and adhere to it for proclaiming and experiencing Christ. Do not transform the Church into an agglomeration of cults.
Andrew
2 months ago
"Give to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to God that which is God's". I hope the next Pope will deal with the unhealthy growing trend of fundamentalist traditional Catholicism which stifles the Holy Spirit by claiming to speak and act on its behalf to the exclusion of other memebrs of the People of God.
KarlVDH
2 months ago
Rafaelmarie... point of correction... priessts not marrying is nothing like a 2000 year old tradition, nor is it mentioned as a requirement in scripture. In point of fact, we HAVE maried priests now, and always have. Our Bzantine brethren- in full communion with the Holy see- have married Priests. A married Deaacon in our own Church can be ordained to the priesthood. Historically, Priests married, and it was ABNORMAL for Bishops, Cardinals and even Popes to be married. Sait Peter himself CLEARLY, DEFINITELY had a wife. The Bible say so! So... whatver this next Pope says or does regarding that particular issue- which I predict won't even be addresed- shouldn't we just trust it to God rather than put ourselves in the position of judging the Pontiff?
KarlVDH
2 months ago
Well said, tom!! Jesus didn't attack secularism at all- arguably far more rampant in his day than in ours! Instead, he attacked (eviscerated) the religious... the faithful... the people who made the faith and its observance more important than the people... the people who would enforce on others a religiosity that He knew good and well none of them would or could really live- especially those calling for it the loudest. Jessus fought the Pharisee, the Saducee, the religious authority and hierarchy that had forgotten that its prome function was not to make the people serve God, NOT to defend God, NOT to deciide who could and couldn't worship God, Not to choose right and wrong for others but to ENABLE people to worship and commune woth God and trust Him to make others well and right. Jesus was clear... if the Faithful weren't seeing as their prime objective the making available of God to the world, but were rather putting themselves in a position to admit or deny this person or that, THEY were the ones in the wrong... something that people who would take upon themselves the idea that they have a say or even a right to an opinion about what the next Pope's agenda "MUST" be would do well to think about. Hard. Our task is to FOLLOW the Holy Father. Not to advise him, not to direct him. To do so is unbelievably arrogant. God save the Chair of St. Peter and whoever occupies it from the evil of Western-particularly American- political influence. The Papacy is not and must never be or bend to a democracy.
Monica G.
2 months ago
Very thoughtful and insightful article. Pope Benedict identified the dangers to the soul posed by the twin threats of relativism and secularism. In doing so, he reached out to the lost, disillusioned and fallen-away souls of the prosperous post-industial nations, neglected by a church formerly interested only in that they obey, pray and pay, and he demonstrating repeatedly a care and concern for their salvation. His care and concern showed me the Church cares about me and I came back.

I'm laying my bets for the succession on the Holy Spirit's choice, and not on the political machinations postulated by media around the world
DLL
2 months ago
The secular folks are simply trying to destroy the Catholic Church. It is their secular agenda forced on everyone they are promoting and they are very well organized,with their own website and followers. President Obama forces the secular agenda as do all of the Democrats as it is written into their secular party platform,on their website. Read what they say on their websites as to what they themselves stand for. They are loyal to promoting and enforcing their agendas to becoming law that all must accept,like it or not. Such as homosexual marriage in California a state that voted it out as marriage is between a man and a woman. The Catholic Church opposes secularism as the Catechism is the book that defines what Catholics believe. The Church does not force their agendas to become law for everyone like it or not. The Church stands behind its Religious teaching because it is a matter of Faith and not law. One can attempt to push law but no one can push a faith on anyone because that is a matter of a core belief in God. Secular humanists that do not believe in God have their right not to but they can not force issues of conscience that are opposed to what people of faith believe. This is a matter of respect because all must respect each other wether or not they believe in God. Respect is the neutral position. The neutral position respects individual points of view to the degree that laws are not unfairly written that oppose core beliefs,because they cater to a minority viewpoint that ,has not proved itself to be an acceptable standard,because it applies only to the standards of a minority opinion,not the majority one. Militant secularists use the term "hateful" to refer to anyone who does not agree with them,in the attempt to make an opponent look the fool,so no one can debate an issue like same sex marriage,so that it will become a written set of a forced on everyone law. This is the battle because the minority does not rule to control he implementation of laws that the majority simply can not accept. Natural law is ordered law,not common law,as we can see common law is becoming dis-ordered law,because of special interest groups that are able to buy the change in the law,because of the funding that they have raised to push their agenda. That is a fundamentally dis-ordered way to bring about change in a society that calls itself a democracy.

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